A few months after its master event in Geneva, Watches and Wonders is back on the road. It’s off to China, where the Salon will take place in Shanghai from September 13 to 17, 2023. This third edition will feature 14 exhibiting Maisons and for the first time, open its doors to the public over the weekend.
A showcase of creative and dynamic watchmaking, Watches and Wonders Shanghai confirms the event’s proximity to its audience, as well as its ability to promote the watchmaking industry, giving it visibility through a series of immersive experiences.
Lovers of fine watchmaking will once again gather at the West Bund Art Center within a completely redesigned Pavilion. The first three days will be reserved, by invitation only, for retailers, the press and the brands’ end customers, while the general public is expected to attend for the first time on September 16 and 17, 2023 to experience a journey into the heart of time. Tickets will be available from August via the official Watches and Wonders WeChat mini-program, priced at 150 RMB.
Around the true stars of watchmaking, Watches and Wonders Shanghai has built a 360° itinerary encompassing all its dimensions: themed conferences, expert panels, workshops, and presentations of extraordinary expertise. Among the highlights, the exhibition “What time is it?” by Karine Bauzin, will be travelling from Geneva with a selection of some 40 photos. In this ethnographic work, the Swiss artist and photographer questions our relationship with time through a universal gesture.
Rendezvous in Shanghai in September!
EXHIBITING MAISONS A. LANGE & SÖHNE | ARNOLD & SON | BAUME & MERCIER | CARTIER | CHARRIOL | IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN | JAEGER-LECOULTRE | PANERAI | PIAGET | ROGER DUBUIS | SPEAKE-MARIN | U-BOAT | ULYSSE NARDIN | VACHERON CONSTANTIN
SUPREME RARITY TO MARK THE PASSAGE OF TIME: A TRILOGY OF UNIQUE MINUTE REPEATERS PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE RICH HISTORY OF ON ITS 135TH ANNIVERSARY.
The Manero Minute Repeater Anniversary is quite simply the pinnacle of CFB’s watchmaking prowess and a powerful expression of the company’s rich history, engineering talent and pioneering spirit. Equally technically ambitious and aesthetically exacting, this trio of watches epitomizes how CFB ’s watchmaking skills and ability have been refined since 1888.
Each watch, limited to one piece only, features CFB’s three highest complications, all peripherally mounted: an automatic winding system, “floating” tourbillon and minute repeater regulator – which controls the speed at which hammers strike melodic gongs to tell the time with sound. Entirely designed, developed and manufactured in-house, the movement took six years to perfect and consists of 617 individual parts.
From a creative perspective, each watch is also one of a kind, demonstrating the highest quality materials and decorative competencies of the in-house artisans, expressed in three dramatically contrasting appearances. As such, they evoke the progressive attitude of a wholly family-owned business that, over three generations and 135 years, has continually pushed the boundaries of watchmaking.
Classical elegance, ultimate precision
The first in the Manero Minute Repeater Anniversary trilogy presents the stunning intricacy of an 18K gold dial finished in a moss green guilloche, hand- milled by experienced artisans using a 200-year-old lathe. It comes in an 18K yellow gold case and is complemented by gold index marks and a matching moss green nubuck leather strap. The result is arguably the most classic watch in the collection, exuding stately, sophisticated elegance.
Contemporary style, flawless details
The second in the series showcases an 18K white gold dial overlaid with light blue mother-of-pearl, the color exactly matching 40 ice blue, baguette-cut sapphires arranged around the bezel – all contained in an 18K white gold case. The dial finish uses naturally occurring white mother-of-pearl – the rarest form – which has been delicately hand-painted from the rear to preserve its translucent and luminous qualities. All the sapphires, chosen for their brilliance and purity, are naturally occurring and naturally colored – that they all match perfectly in cut, color, clarity and luster is itself an exquisite achievement. A hybrid rubber strap helps convey a distinct contemporary style.
Celebratory panache, beautifully colorful
The final watch in the trilogy is characterized by a cascade of color – an 18K rose gold case is framed by a full-spectrum bezel containing 40 baguette-cut gemstones including tsavorites, sapphires and rubies. Again, these naturally occurring, naturally colored gemstones were all chosen for their brilliance, purity and cut. Here, the challenge was to ensure the smoothest transition between colors to create an incredible rainbow effect, and to ensure the gemstone index marks match perfectly with the corresponding gemstone on the bezel. A black sunray dial and hybrid rubber strap make the colors shine in an unashamedly bold, free-spirited and celebratory design.
Collectively, these three timepieces characterize CFB’s exceptional technical proficiency, refined over generations, as well as its evolving sense of style. The trilogy is just as representative of the brand’s origins in 1888 as it is with the ever- more colorful, genderless collection of 2023 that is redefining CBF for a new generation of watch aficionados.
CFB’s most complex movement
At the heart of all three watches is the impressive CFB MR3000 caliber movement. Each one takes the most experienced watchmakers many weeks to assemble, complicated by the fact that assembly itself can distort its delicate parts. The 33- jewel movement was patented in 2021 and is a COSC-certified chronometer.
It owes its complexity to three peripherally mounted technologies: these minimize the thickness of CFB’s watch cases, despite the additional complications, and maximize the view of the movement through case backs.
First is an automatic winding system, featuring a bi-directional oscillating, 18K gold weight. Next comes a “floating” tourbillon cage, neither mounted in the movement’s main plate nor attached to overlying bridges but supported peripherally and appearing to float in space. CFB’s tourbillons are displayed in a distinctive style at 12 o’clock, rather than 6 o’clock.
Finally, a peripherally mounted minute repeater regulator controls when hammers strike two gongs to sound hours, quarter hours and minutes. Unlike most such mechanisms, CFB’s components are visible in the dial: the regulator at 6 o’clock; the hammers at the base; and the circular gongs running around the inside edge of the case. Arranging these components in such a fashion was both a bold design decision and a feat of micro-engineering – not least as the company’s designers and watchmakers had to work closely with acoustic specialists to ensure the case and gongs formed the perfect sound chamber. One final detail: a space between the gongs can be engraved, perhaps to signify how the wearer intends to enjoy #ExploringTime.
Facts and Figures Manero Minute Repeater Anniversary Edition
Movement: Automatic, manufacture caliber CFB MR3000, chronometer COSC, oscillating weight made of 18K gold, power reserve 65 hours
Functions: Minute repeater with two gongs, floating tourbillon, hour, minute, small seconds on tourbillon cage, stop-second, protection function for the mechanism
Case: 18K yellow gold, domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, case back with sapphire crystal and anti-reflective coating on both sides, water-resistant to 1 bar (10 m)
Dial: 18K yellow gold with moss green hand-made guilloche pattern, 18K gold marks
Movement: Automatic, manufacture caliber CFB MR3000, chronometer COSC, oscillating weight made of 18K gold with blue coating, power reserve 65 hours
Functions: Minute repeater with two gongs, floating tourbillon, hour, minute, small seconds on tourbillon cage, stop-second, protection function for the mechanism
Case: 18K white gold, bezel set with 40 ice blue baguette cut 4.3 ct. sapphires, domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, case back with sapphire crystal and anti-reflective coating on both sides, water- resistant to 1 bar (10 m)
Dial: 18K white gold with light ice blue mother-of-pearl, 18K gold index marks
Hands: 18K gold
Strap: Blue hybrid rubber strap with “textile” texture and quick release system, 18K white gold pin-lock folding clasp
Movement: Automatic, manufacture caliber CFB MR3000, chronometer COSC, oscillating weight made of 18K gold, power reserve 65 hours
Functions: Minute repeater with two gongs, floating tourbillon, hour, minute, small seconds on tourbillon cage, stop-second, protection function for the mechanism
Case: 18K rose gold, bezel set with 40 baguette cut 3.9 ct. tsavorites, sapphires and rubies in rainbow colors, domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, case back with sapphire crystal and anti-reflective coating on both sides, water-resistant to 1 bar (10 m)
Dial: 18K rose gold with black sunray finish, 8 baguette cut 0.3 ct. tsavorites and sapphires in rainbow colors
Hands: 18K gold
Strap: Black hybrid rubber strap with ‘textile’ texture and quick release system, 18K rose gold pin-lock folding clasp
Limitation: Unique piece
For further information, please contact:
Raphaela Bodmer, Global Head of PR, Digital Marketing, and Communications Tel.: +41 (0)41 369 73 58
Carl F. Bucherer has been crafting watches since 1888 and is internationally renowned for its quality, innovation, and pioneering spirit. CFB is one of only a few remaining independent, family-owned historic Swiss watch manufacturers and is currently led by third-generation family member Jörg G. Bucherer. The brand’s watches continue to evolve, combining contemporary style and cutting-edge materials with the utmost precision and outstanding functionality.
Every CFB timepiece is conceptualized, developed and hand-assembled at CFB’s production facilities in Switzerland, with many watches powered by CFB’s own movements, all designed and built entirely in-house. The brand is also the market leader in peripheral technology, having patented not only a peripheral winding system, but also a floating tourbillon in a peripherally supported cage and a peripherally guided minute repeater regulator. Its individualization business, the CFB Mastery Lab, represents the height of ingenuity and inventiveness, dedicated to creating truly one-of-a-kind watches.
Since the very start, CFB has adopted an international mindset and a forward-looking attitude, exploring time through the perspectives of watch aficionados everywhere. Today, it showcases its expertise, refined over generations, with a major retail presence spanning four continents. This global network continually reminds the world what remains so special about the craft of Swiss watchmaking.
Expanding on the DEFY Skyline Skeleton that made its debut at the start of the year, ZENITH adds contrasting tones of grey and gold for the Boutique Edition of the world’s first and only skeleton watch to feature a 1/10th of a second indicator.
Far more than an open-worked watch, the DEFY Skyline Skeleton brings forth an entirely new design language to the world of skeleton watches. Keeping with the enduring DEFY legacy of sturdy and singularly futuristic timekeepers that began in 1969, the DEFY Skyline collection was conceived for an ever-fast-moving world where every fraction of a second can be a decisive one. Now, the DEFY Skyline Skeleton takes on a new chromatic palette of grey and silver with golden highlights as a boutique-exclusive edition.
Drawing inspiration from modern cityscapes where structures and light are bound in a constantly moving interplay, the DEFY Skyline Skeleton seamlessly integrates the open dial with an openworked version of the El Primero high-frequency automatic. A work of perfect symmetry seldom found in skeleton watches, the open dial takes on the form of a four-pointed stars, recalling the ZENITH “double Z” logo of the 1960s. For the Boutique Edition, the dial takes on a silvery-grey colour, with a darker chapter ring featuring applied gold-plated baton hour markers filled with Super-LumiNova and matching hands for effortless legibility. A constantly running 1/10th of a second counter at 6 o’clock makes steady jumps in fixed increments, completing one revolution every 10 seconds. This unprecedented feature is unique to the new generation of the El Primero automatic high-frequency calibre.
An evolution of the unique octagonal geometry established by the earliest DEFY wristwatch models of the 1960s, the angular steel case of the DEFY Skyline Skeleton retains the same DNA of robustness and durability as its predecessors while bringing an edgier and more architectural aesthetic. The 41mm stainless steel case with sharply defined edges is topped by a faceted bezel, inspired by those from early DEFY models and reimagined with twelve sides that are positioned as extensions to the hour markers. With an emphasis on performance in the largest possible range of activities and situations, the screw-down crown emblazoned with the star emblem provides a water-resistance of 10 ATM (100 metres).
Visible through the open dial as well as the sapphire display back is the openworked version of the high-frequency automatic El Primero calibre, the 3620 SK. Built with a similar architecture as the El Primero 3600 1/10th of a second chronograph, this automatic manufacture movement drives the 1/10th of a second hand directly from the escapement, which beats at 5Hz (36’000 VpH), thus making it a “natural” fraction-of-a-second indication. It is also endowed with a stop-second mechanism for precise time-setting. Efficient in its performance, the automatic winding mechanism with bi-directional rotor with a star motif delivers a power reserve of approximately 55 hours. For the Boutique edition of the DEFY Skyline Skeleton, the movement is finished in a luminous rhodium grey tone.
DEFY SKYLINE SKELETON BOUTIQUE EDITION
Reference: 03.9300.3620/80.I001
Key points: El Primero 3-hand watch. High frequency indication: 1/10th of a second. Subdial at 6 o’clock. Silicon escape-wheel and lever. Screwed-in crown. Full Interchangeable strap system.
Movement: El Primero 3620 SK, Automatic
Frequency: 36’000 VpH – 5Hz
Powerreserve: approx. 55 hours
Functions: Hours and minutes in the centre. 1/10th of a second counter at 6 o’clock
Finishes: Special oscillating weight with satined finishings
Price: 10900 CHF
Material: Stainless steel
Water resistance: 10 ATM
Case: 41mm
Dial: Openworked
Hour markers: Gold-plated, faceted and coated with SuperLuminova SLN C1
Hands: Gold-plated, faceted and coated with SuperLuminova SLN C1
Bracelet & Buckle: Stainless steel bracelet. 2nd bracelet Black Rubber with starry sky pattern. Stainless steel folding clasp.
The DEFY Skyline Skeleton Boutique Edition is available exclusively at ZENITH physical and online boutiques around the world.
